Combustion chambers for burning premixed fuels with air have various applications, but generally require the mixing of the fuel with an oxygen source such as air, igniting the mixture, and burning the mixture. One such application is in self-contained portable torches, which use pressurized gas tanks as the fuel source. The fuel is mixed with ambient air and flows through a jet ejector or nozzle. An example of such a portable torch is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,559, assigned to the instant assignee. This combustion device includes means for combining a fuel gas and a combustion supporting gas, and means for stalling the combined fuel gas and combustion supporting gas when the combined gases are moving either at a low velocity or a high velocity. Another fuel combuster is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,013,395. That device uses a vortex generator as a flame holder, which results in a swirling flame.
Pressure regulators or valves are attached to a standard fitting on the outlet of the fuel tanks (such as propane or Mapp.RTM. gas) associated with such combustion devices, and regulate the amount of fuel flowing to the torch tip. However, such regulators are generally manually attach to the tank fitting by means of screw threads, and can come loose during operation. Since the gas in the fuel tank is highly flammable, and the torch tip in operation emits an open flame, a loose regulator can result in fires, or can cause severe burns to the operator.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a fuel regulator which automatically locks onto a fuel tank.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion device including a regulator having a fuel tank locking mechanism.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description, drawings and claims.